https://www.scmp.com/rss/277453/feed Felix Baumgartner, a former military parachutist from Austria, is the first skydiver to go faster than the speed of sound, reaching a peak of 1,342km/h. On October 14, 2012, the 43-year-old jumped out of a balloon 39 kilometres above New Mexico, also breaking the record of highest freefall. He was in freefall for four minutes and 19 seconds and took nearly 10 minutes in total to descend. Baumgartner has logged more than 2,500 career dives. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Mo Yan The author became the first Chinese national to with the Nobel Prize for Literature and immediately found himself feted and condemned in almost equal measure. The novelist, real name Guan Moye , was praised by the judges in Stockholm for his "unique way of writing", but many Chinese dissidents accused him of being too close to the Communist Party. Mo Yan can, at least, find solace in the 8 million Swedish krona (HK$9.25 million) prize.   Nguyen Tan Dung Vietnam's prime minister clung on... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1066014/good-week-october-21-2012?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1066014/good-week-october-21-2012?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Should we applaud the relentless efficiency of our civil service, or decry its time-wasting stupidity? Businessman Markus Shaw, after the government spent HK$25 writing to ask him to rectify an error in election expenses of less than HK$1   I'm now under great pressure and have a lot to worry about. So how can I be happy? Author Mo Yan on the demands and expectations of winning the Nobel Prize for Literature   Everyone has limits - not everyone accepts them Austrian skydiver "Fearless Felix"... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1061895/who-said-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1061895/who-said-it?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 "Fearless Felix" Baumgartner, the Austrian daredevil who stunned fans around the world by breaking the sound barrier in a hair-raising free fall from the fringe of space, was "born to fly". That's according to a tattoo on the 43-year-old adventurer, a motto that took on a whole new meaning after his nail-biting feat on Sunday - the fastest, highest free fall ever. The dramatic parachute jump from nearly 40 kilometres above the earth - which could have ended in disaster by causing his blood to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1061863/felix-baumgartner-man-who-fell-earth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1061863/felix-baumgartner-man-who-fell-earth?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Footage of what Felix Baumgartner saw as he fell from the edge of space in a record breaking skydive has been leaked on the internet.  A German show called Servus TV also ran the footage captured from camera attached to Felix Baumgartner's body as he performed his supersonic skydive from the edge of space.  The amazing film also shows the moment Baumgartner hit 833 miles per hour - sending him into the record books as he broke the sound barrier. The Austrian can also be heard reporting that his... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1061733/daredevil-felix-baumgartners-fall-earth-leaked-online?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1061733/daredevil-felix-baumgartners-fall-earth-leaked-online?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Oct 2012 09:43:58 +0000 “Fearless Felix” Baumgartner, the Austrian daredevil who stunned fans around the world on Sunday by breaking the sound barrier in a hair-raising dive from the fringe of space, was “born to fly”. That’s according to a tattoo the 43-year-old sports, a motto that took on a whole new meaning after his nail-biting feat, the fastest freefall ever by leaping from a capsule more than 39 kilometres above the earth and reaching a top speed of 1,342km/h. The dramatic jump – which could have ended in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1061538/profile-fearless-felix-baumgartner-no-stranger-danger?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1061538/profile-fearless-felix-baumgartner-no-stranger-danger?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Oct 2012 03:10:05 +0000 Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner made a record-breaking leap from the edge of space on Sunday, landing safely in the New Mexico desert after freefalling from more than 39 kilometres above the earth. The 43-year-old floated down to earth on a red and white parachute canopy, which he had opened after reaching speeds of more than 1,120km/h in freefall. Mission control erupted in cheers as Baumgartner made a near-perfect jump from a capsule hoisted aloft by a giant helium-filled balloon to an... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1061332/austrian-daredevil-felix-baumgartner-jumps-edge-space?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1061332/austrian-daredevil-felix-baumgartner-jumps-edge-space?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Oct 2012 18:33:32 +0000 Extreme athlete and skydiver Felix Baumgartner canceled his planned death-defying 23-mile (37 kilometer) free fall on Tuesday into the New Mexico desert because of high winds. The 43-year-old former military parachutist from Austria had hoped to become the first skydiver to break the sound barrier and shatter three other world records. But the weather forced his team to cancel his planned ascent in a 55-story, ultra-thin helium balloon that was to take him to the stratosphere. Because the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1057430/skydiver-felix-baumgartner-cancels-try-supersonic-jump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1057430/skydiver-felix-baumgartner-cancels-try-supersonic-jump?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Oct 2012 18:21:21 +0000 An Austrian daredevil’s attempt to make an unprecedented leap from the edge of space was aborted Tuesday moments before the planned launch due to gusty winds, organizers said. Felix Baumgartner was already installed in the pressurized capsule, and a five-minute countdown was started, but as it got down to zero it became clear that conditions were too windy. The huge, gossamer-thin balloon which was to have taken him aloft could be seen buffetted around at the launch site in Roswell, in the US... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1057424/austrian-bid-edge-space-jump-aborted?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1057424/austrian-bid-edge-space-jump-aborted?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Oct 2012 18:06:52 +0000